Page 16 of Slow Burn (The Boston Beauties)

He shrugged. ‘I’ll explain it all to her, go on.’

‘And our plans for New Year’s?’ I asked as I stood. New Year's Eve was in a few more days, and we had purchased tickets to a club with live music with a bunch of friends from university.

‘I’ll find someone to take,’ he assured me, nudging his head towards his room, where my bag and things were.

An hour later, I was boarding the private jet with Breton and Steve. I’d been working with the Cahills for almost a year and had never stepped foot on one of the planes, let alone flown in one. This was small but had a few seats and tables at the front of the plane, and two sofas at the back, that looked as if they folded down into beds to sleep in.

I looked around, impressed and feeling a bit out of my element. Steve told me where to sit, and the flight attendant took the one bag I had, and stored it in the back of the plane, as there were no overhead compartments, I noticed, giving the place more headspace to move around in.

I sat in a seat across from Breton. ‘A bit nicer than commercial,’ he said.

I pretended I wasn’t impressed. ‘Much, but the real issue is, do they have peanuts?’

‘I think it can be arranged.’

I sat back in the leather seat and buckled myself in.

‘What was the contingency plan if I’d said no?’ I asked during take-off.

‘Fly back with some of my new special ops co-workers, drug and kidnap you,’ Breton joked, but given the description of the job he’d told me about over dinner, I wasn’t too sure.

CHAPTER 6

DREW

I stayed with Steve and Colleen for the first few days when I arrived back to Boston. They both seemed like different people from the couple I’d left only six weeks ago. We talked a lot about the future. Steve wanted to sponsor me for a proper work visa and permanent residence. Not only were they excited for the renovations, but they also had a bunch of ideas for the beach house.

Colleen was put together and clearly no longer on sedatives, Steve looked as if he’d been sleeping, and they both had a renewed purpose in life.

I hoped it would all rub off on me. I could still feel I wasn’t myself and didn’t want to face the fact that this might be my new normal. I was sad and still depressed, but I was starting to accept the fact that Jessa was well and truly gone, and I needed to get on with my life, no matter how much it hurt to do so.

If her parents could do it, then I should be able to also.

Turns out, while I was brooding, Steve had been arranging and lining up a bunch of projects that would keep me more than busy over the next year. I’d have to hire a small team and find subcontractors for some of the more difficult jobs he wanted, his colleagues had requested, and for the major renovations that were going to be undertaken at the departures terminal next to Cahill Global headquarters.

My mood was slightly lifted when I was with them, seeing their new lease on life. I spent New Year's Eve in Boston with Breton and a bunch of his university friends that I’d never met before. It was his send-off party, of sorts.

On New Year's Day, I drove out to the beach house that was still in a state. I couldn’t believe I’d been living in it before I left. It just went to show how out of it I really had been. It had running water, but just barely. I had the fridge in the garage and no working stove due to electrical wiring, but I did have a toaster oven, a microwave, and the GrubHub app on my main screen on my phone.

I had kept one of the mattresses and a sofa from when the Koplands moved out a few months ago and was using them at the moment in a small room upstairs I hadn’t touched yet. On my first day back, I spent the entire day organizing my schedule and came up with a plan to get this house somewhat livable for the short-term for myself. After I ordered a pizza for dinner, I contacted Joe, who, thankfully, had been handling the few things we had on the go.

Joe and I spent the entire next day drawing up a plan to tackle the first floor of the reno house and ordering the supplies to be delivered over the next few days. It would take some time, but together—we, along with subcontractors for things like electrical and plumbing—we’d get the structural things completed within a month, then I could chip away at the cosmetic side of things when time permitted.

That evening, I drove to the bar. Lisa was long overdue for an apology.

She was behind the bar and wasn’t pleased to see me as she usually had been. I understood her stare. I was a dick last time I saw her, I knew that, and clearly, she hadn’t forgotten over the past 6 weeks. I’d flirted with her in the past, but I’d never actually come on to her. I’d never actually made a woman to touch me before, either. It was low, and I couldn’t excuse my behavior, I could only apologize.

I took a seat at one of my usual stools at the bar and took a menu, hoping that they may have changed or added to it since I’d been gone, but luck wasn’t on my side tonight.

Lisa was serving and chatting with another regular, and after some time, she made her way over to me. ‘What can I get you?’ There was no warmth or welcome in her voice tonight. Can’t say I blamed her for that.

‘Forgiveness?’ I asked her, putting on my saddest puppy face.

She rolled her eyes at me. ‘I don’t recall that being on the menu.’

‘I’m sorry for the way I acted last time,’ I looked at her, truly sorry. ‘I crossed a line. You’ve been nothing but great to me.’

She nodded, looking down at the bar.

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